Garden photos and more.
A Fox Tale
Nature has always been important to my family and I. We have traveled across the country keeping our eyes open for the elusive creatures in the wild, a patch of wildflowers, an interesting land formation or ocean scene. We continue to travel to see various flowers, water fowl, birds of all types and constantly watch for interesting insects and butterflies with cameras in hand. There is so much out there that is beautiful, amazing and awesome... so much to see and so much to learn.
In January in 2007 I was in my kitchen and scanned the view out my back windows when... to my amazement, I spied something reddish sitting out back but mostly hidden. It had a very large bushy tail and red fur. That I was astonished is an understatement. I was so surprised that I called to my husband," 'Wolf'! No,no, it's a fox!!!" It disappeared after less than a minute but following that we watched with a keener eye and decided to name it Wolf. We spotted it a few times in February and March but didn't see it again after that time. I always referred to it as 'her' but we could never identify it as a male or female. We just enjoyed seeing it when it passed through.
In February of 2008, on a snowy and cold winter day, we saw Wolf again. I was 95% sure it was the same fox we had seen a year ago. She lazed in the snow and seemed to be kicking back, taking a break and maybe showing off just a little bit. We snapped a few photos but the light (and shooting through the windows) didn't do her justice compared to the thrill we got seeing her again. She didn't stay very long and was gone again.
Then one day in March we finally got a real shock. She strolled by the house and stopped to scratch an itch. Well, those photos proved she was a nursing female with pups. (or kits if you prefer) Our excitement was piqued even though we knew, just knew they were not too far but not in our yard. She got up and left with an easy prance. The very next morning, lo and behold, my son called me out to the kitchen. Wolf spotted sitting near the flowering crab not far from the house. He had grabbed the camera and snapped a few photos before it left. This behavior was strange to me but I took the card and transferred the photos. I was astounded to see it was a different fox. It was a male! He was sleeker, had more gray in his fur and he had one white foot. Wow, just wow. I promptly named him Bear.
Two days later one of our neighbors knocked on our door. They knew we were interested in all things nature and photography. The fox had a den under their shed and had 3-4 pups that had been out romping and playing the past couple of afternoons. They asked if we would try to get some photos of them and we agreed wholeheartedly! The next day was cloudy and they didn't come out until later in the day but we did get a couple of photos. They weren't great but they were better than nothing and, being realistic, we might never have this opportunity again. We'll take what we can get and 3 pups is what we saw although we only snapped photos of 2. We believe one was nursing because the mom was laying down much of the time. The next days were cloudy and rainy and.... we didn't see them again. The neighbor said they would let us know if they saw them again.
We did not hear from the neighbor in the following days but we saw increased adult fox activity in our yard. Almost every night at dusk we would see an adult trot down one of our many paths towards a stand of pines in the back. It would typically jump the fence and head up the hill but the pines obscured the exact path it took. Our dog has been helpful in alerting us to Wolf's presence and her bark does not seem to bother the fox at all.
The first Saturday in May.... 5:30 AM... the dog alerted us to a spectacular sight. Three pups playing near a garden in our yard. They were rough-housing, playing furiously and moving quickly. They appeared happy and healthy while their mom (I think) moved in and out of view. The pups had grown a lot since we had last seen them. They were taking on a reddish color now but were still different than their parents. They were more of a reddish buff color. Their noses were shorter than the adults as were their legs. They almost looked like puppy dogs. I nicknamed them Snap, Crackle and Pop even though I could not identify them individually.
They ran along the fence and then into one of our gardens, jumping, running and enjoying their freedom. (or so it seemed to me.) Mom and two pups sprinted to the ditch but quickly came back along the side of our house. They ran with speed and ease, never seeming to tire. (I've read that foxes can run up to 45 mph.) They scampered around the gardens a bit more and then headed for the ditch once again. To our utter astonishment, Wolf came barreling up the yard with a female mallard duck in her jaws! Two pups stayed close to her side and... it was the side farthest from us. They ran to the back of the yard and that is the last we saw of the duck. We don't know if it was eaten or buried but we could find no evidence of it later, not even a feather.
Not long after the duck incident, Wolf proceeded onto the lawn alone and, I'm thinking, in need of a break. She sat for a few minutes looking around and licking her chops. Soon she got up and headed back to where the pups must have been. They were out of sight for us. Soon they came bounding out from behind some cover and circled around their mom. At this point things get strange. It's something that we have been struggling to figure out and have not been able to find a solution. Wolf headed to the back with 2 pups. Where was the other at that point? Why wasn't it going along with the others? Was it injured at some point, is it sick or just the runt? I am not sure we will ever know the answer.
That very same evening we were honored with their presence again for a brief time but it was only mom and 2 pups. They were obviously going out to hunt. They all tried to go up the stand of pines in the back but turned back twice for some reason. In the end, they went to the ditch in front and disappeared from sight. That is the last time we saw the pups but we continue to see an adult pass through at dusk or dawn almost every day.
The wonder of nature... it's a beautiful thing.
In January in 2007 I was in my kitchen and scanned the view out my back windows when... to my amazement, I spied something reddish sitting out back but mostly hidden. It had a very large bushy tail and red fur. That I was astonished is an understatement. I was so surprised that I called to my husband," 'Wolf'! No,no, it's a fox!!!" It disappeared after less than a minute but following that we watched with a keener eye and decided to name it Wolf. We spotted it a few times in February and March but didn't see it again after that time. I always referred to it as 'her' but we could never identify it as a male or female. We just enjoyed seeing it when it passed through.
In February of 2008, on a snowy and cold winter day, we saw Wolf again. I was 95% sure it was the same fox we had seen a year ago. She lazed in the snow and seemed to be kicking back, taking a break and maybe showing off just a little bit. We snapped a few photos but the light (and shooting through the windows) didn't do her justice compared to the thrill we got seeing her again. She didn't stay very long and was gone again.
Then one day in March we finally got a real shock. She strolled by the house and stopped to scratch an itch. Well, those photos proved she was a nursing female with pups. (or kits if you prefer) Our excitement was piqued even though we knew, just knew they were not too far but not in our yard. She got up and left with an easy prance. The very next morning, lo and behold, my son called me out to the kitchen. Wolf spotted sitting near the flowering crab not far from the house. He had grabbed the camera and snapped a few photos before it left. This behavior was strange to me but I took the card and transferred the photos. I was astounded to see it was a different fox. It was a male! He was sleeker, had more gray in his fur and he had one white foot. Wow, just wow. I promptly named him Bear.
Two days later one of our neighbors knocked on our door. They knew we were interested in all things nature and photography. The fox had a den under their shed and had 3-4 pups that had been out romping and playing the past couple of afternoons. They asked if we would try to get some photos of them and we agreed wholeheartedly! The next day was cloudy and they didn't come out until later in the day but we did get a couple of photos. They weren't great but they were better than nothing and, being realistic, we might never have this opportunity again. We'll take what we can get and 3 pups is what we saw although we only snapped photos of 2. We believe one was nursing because the mom was laying down much of the time. The next days were cloudy and rainy and.... we didn't see them again. The neighbor said they would let us know if they saw them again.
We did not hear from the neighbor in the following days but we saw increased adult fox activity in our yard. Almost every night at dusk we would see an adult trot down one of our many paths towards a stand of pines in the back. It would typically jump the fence and head up the hill but the pines obscured the exact path it took. Our dog has been helpful in alerting us to Wolf's presence and her bark does not seem to bother the fox at all.
The first Saturday in May.... 5:30 AM... the dog alerted us to a spectacular sight. Three pups playing near a garden in our yard. They were rough-housing, playing furiously and moving quickly. They appeared happy and healthy while their mom (I think) moved in and out of view. The pups had grown a lot since we had last seen them. They were taking on a reddish color now but were still different than their parents. They were more of a reddish buff color. Their noses were shorter than the adults as were their legs. They almost looked like puppy dogs. I nicknamed them Snap, Crackle and Pop even though I could not identify them individually.
They ran along the fence and then into one of our gardens, jumping, running and enjoying their freedom. (or so it seemed to me.) Mom and two pups sprinted to the ditch but quickly came back along the side of our house. They ran with speed and ease, never seeming to tire. (I've read that foxes can run up to 45 mph.) They scampered around the gardens a bit more and then headed for the ditch once again. To our utter astonishment, Wolf came barreling up the yard with a female mallard duck in her jaws! Two pups stayed close to her side and... it was the side farthest from us. They ran to the back of the yard and that is the last we saw of the duck. We don't know if it was eaten or buried but we could find no evidence of it later, not even a feather.
Not long after the duck incident, Wolf proceeded onto the lawn alone and, I'm thinking, in need of a break. She sat for a few minutes looking around and licking her chops. Soon she got up and headed back to where the pups must have been. They were out of sight for us. Soon they came bounding out from behind some cover and circled around their mom. At this point things get strange. It's something that we have been struggling to figure out and have not been able to find a solution. Wolf headed to the back with 2 pups. Where was the other at that point? Why wasn't it going along with the others? Was it injured at some point, is it sick or just the runt? I am not sure we will ever know the answer.
That very same evening we were honored with their presence again for a brief time but it was only mom and 2 pups. They were obviously going out to hunt. They all tried to go up the stand of pines in the back but turned back twice for some reason. In the end, they went to the ditch in front and disappeared from sight. That is the last time we saw the pups but we continue to see an adult pass through at dusk or dawn almost every day.
The wonder of nature... it's a beautiful thing.
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Comment by GTO on May 9, 2008 at 10:18pm - Deb, that was very enjoyable to read....and great shot too!!
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